Thanksgiving dinners a time to come together

Phil Anderson

Thursday

Nov 24, 2016 at 6:28 AM

For nearly half a century, the theme for the Topeka Community Thanksgiving Dinner has been a simple one.

"No one need dine alone."

That sentiment is the hallmark of the free dinner of turkey and all the trimmings, which is prepared and served by a team of about 250 volunteers each Thanksgiving. About 3,000 meals are served each year.

On Thursday afternoon, the 49th annual community Thanksgiving dinner took place at the Kansas Expocentre’s Agriculture Hall, near S.W. 17th and Tyler.

The dinner was scheduled to begin at noon, but the serving time was delayed until about 12:45 p.m. as a result of a person suffering a medical emergency inside Ag Hall.

Myron Johnson, president of the Topeka Community Thanksgiving Dinner Foundation, said the person with the emergency was attended to and was expected to be fine.

Servers then distributed meals to all 640 people, who filled every chair inside Ag Hall. Others waited for their turns to be seated at the long tables placed end on end.

Johnson said he was thrilled with the crowd, which undoubtedly was helped by the warm Thanksgiving weather. Thursday afternoon’s temperature was about 50 degrees under sunny skies.

"We’re excited," Johnson said, looking around at the packed house inside Ag Hall. "It’s very fulfilling to see all the people come out for this."

Johnson said 1,575 meals were delivered to area homes Thursday and another 865 meals were served in Ag Hall. Last year, some 2,800 meals were served.

Donna Emperley, of Topeka, was among those who turned out for the dinner at Ag Hall. She said Thursday marked her second year of coming to the dinner.

"I like the atmosphere," Emperley said. "The people are very friendly. There isn’t any arguing or anything. The people are enjoying their time together."

Just as they do each year, residents of the Topeka community came through with needed non-perishable food items at the 11th hour, donating instant potatoes, canned milk, green beans, canned yams, cranberry sauce, brown sugar, stuffing mix and coffee earlier this week.

Pre-cooked turkey breast and pumpkin pies were purchased in advance of Thursday’s meal. Approximately $10,000 was donated to the Topeka Community Thanksgiving Dinner Foundation to help offset costs for this year’s meal.

Volunteers also play a large role in the meal. All 250 volunteer slots were filled last week, and Johnson said those who didn’t get to help can attempt again next year.

Among those volunteering for the first time this year were Jim and Amy Green, of Topeka.

"We just thought it was time to give back to the community," Jim Green said. "We’ve been so blessed. We wanted to give some goodness to the community."

He said he and his wife planned to help again next year: "We’ll be regulars. We’ll be back."

His wife, Amy Green, agreed: "Definitely," she said with a smile.

Considered one of the largest and longest-running community Thanksgiving dinners in the nation, the meal traces its roots to 1968, when Myron Johnson’s mother, Pauline, and the late Addie Spicher founded the dinner at the former East Topeka United Methodist Church.

The meal has moved to several different homes through the years, and has been in Ag Hall for a number of years."

Big plans are in store for the 50th edition of the dinner next year, organizers said.

Meanwhile, a local church youth group observed its 20th anniversary of serving a home-made Thanksgiving meal to members of a local mental health organization.

The youth group and several adult volunteers from Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church fed about 65 people on Thursday afternoon at the Breakthrough House Clubhouse, located on the south fringe of downtown at 1201 S.W. Van Buren.

Church members gathered to start working on the meal of turkey, ham and all the fixings on Wednesday. Many other members baked desserts at home.

The food was transported early Thursday to the Breakthrough House and was served at noon, with several additional tables having to be brought out because of the size of the crowd.

Dennis Bartkoski, 61, a member of the Breakthrough House, was appreciative of the church members for preparing the meal. He also was grateful that the church group came around to the various tables to bring people their food.

Danielle Szuba, 20, a former youth group member who now attends Fort Hays State University, said she made sure she returned to Topeka for Thanksgiving break in time to help with the meal.

"I’ve done this for a lot of years," Szuba said. "I just love giving back and I love being able to serve others who couldn’t do it on their own."

Szuba said she has gotten to know several of the Breakthrough House members: "A lot of them come back every year," she said.

Among the organizers of the church-sponsored dinner, Toni Boyles said many people in the church help out by making dishes and desserts for the home-style dinner.

Boyles said she thought she had been to each of the 20 dinners. Many of the church’s families make it a point to serve whenever possible.

Sometimes, families who want to serve are prevented from doing so because holiday travels take them out of town.

Others always step up, as was the case Thursday, when about 20 church volunteers showed up at the Breakthrough House.

"We always have plenty of people to help," Boyles said. "It’s one of our favorite projects."

"I didn’t know they’d come and serve us," he said. "It’s wonderful."

Contact Phil Anderson at (785) 295-1195 or @Philreports on Twitter. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/philreports.tcj/

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